What is Paleo?

These past few months I've been reading a lot about food and the best lifestyle to adopt since I decided to go on a fit journey. I learned a lot about food and its health benefits and therefore slowly started adopting the Paleo lifestyle (even though I don't follow it 100%).

Many people are still confused about it and others have no idea of what the Paleo diet is so I decided to post a little brief about this new lifestyle that is causing a lot of talk these days.

WHAT IS PALEO?

The main message about the Paleo Diet is that human DNA has not changed significantly since the Paleolithic era, and therefore we should be following a diet similar to what our ancestors followed thousands of years ago. Even though we are not exactly sure of what the typical diet of ancient humans was, we know that it did not include things like bread, fast food, processed foods, or refined sugars, all of which are foods that have little to no nutritional value. Instead, we know that they ate a diet that was based around natural foods that were readily available, such as proteins, vegetables, fruits and nuts, all of which are rich in nutrients.

Everytime I go to the supermarket and look at other people's trolleys I realise how much processed foods "we eat" and I trully believe that a lot of today's health issues are food related.

All below information was taken from a website where I get a lot of inspiration: Eat Drink Paleo by Irena. Check it out for more info on Paleo lifestyle and some great recipes.

What you can and can’t have on a paleo diet.

If you’ve been hiding in a cave, no pun intended, and this is the first you’ve heard of the Paleo diet, here is what you need to know:

1. In today’s world we are largely deskbound, consuming packaged, processed foods, living with chronic stress, and not getting enough sleep – all of which can make us sick, fat and depressed. To achieve optimal health, the Paleo lifestyle draws it’s core principles from our ancestors who ate whole, unprocessed foods, moved more, slept better and stressed less. It’s not about re-enacting the Paleolethic era – in fact most in the Paleo community hate the term ‘Caveman diet’ – but rather recognising our genetic predisposition and applying current knowledge of how different foods and activities affect our body’s functions like metabolism, digestion, insulin sensitivity, and systemic inflammation.

2. We do not run with spears, cook on fire or go foraging in the forest. I get most of my food from fresh food markets, supermarkets, butchers, fishmongers, health food stores and online suppliers.

3. We focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods like grass-fed meat, free range poultry, wild fish, vegetables (including root vegetables,) fruit, berries, some nuts and seeds. We avoid grains, legumes, refined sugars and dairy; although dairy consumption really depends on your gut health and whether you have any auto-immunity issues. So, without going into too much detail, we avoid all these foods to control insulin sensitivity, repair gut health, increase nutrient absorption and reduce negative inflammatory effects they cause.

4. It’s not all meat, meat and meat with more meat. We consume as many fruits and vegetables in a day as most vegetarians (a lot of my recipes are actually vegetarian). Many of us also consume healthy dairy like full fat natural yogurt, certain cheeses and butter. Fermented, dairy products have many health benefits.

5. Even though Paleo way of eating skews towards low-carb side, by excluding grains and refined sugars, eliminating carbs is not the name of the game. The problem with the modern diet is the excessive amount of carbohydrates, especially sugar, which leads to a whole bunch of health issues related to insulin resistance, digestive problems and inflammation. While eating Paleo, we still consume plenty of carbs from vegetables, fruits, nuts and dairy.

6. We make friends with fat. Our bodies need good, smart fats, which we are designed to digest much easier than carbohydrates we get from bread and pasta. Paleo diet includes plenty of healthy fats like olive oil, macadamia oil, coconut oil, coconut milk, avocados, butter, ghee (clarified butter), oily fish, grass fed meat, nuts and seeds.

7. Paleo is about maintaining a healthy ratio of Omega 3/6 fatty acids by decreasing our intake of pro-inflammatory Omega 6 fatty acids found in refined, seed based oils, certain nuts and seeds, and grain-fed meat. It’s also about increasing our intake of anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids found in oily fish, seafood, fish oil, flaxseed oil and grass fed meat and fats.

8. We minimise stress. Sure, a small amount of stress is good for you but for most, prolonged mental and physical stress leads to increased levels of cortisol and causes havoc in our bodies. It can affect our weight, immunity, blood pressure, memory, mood, fertility and sex drive.

9. Another way we control cortisol levels and the affects it has on insulin, appetite and productivity, is by getting enough sleep. Paleo lifestyle prescribes 8 hours of sleep in a completely dark room, with no stimulants or distractions (read ‘iphone and Facebook’) an hour before bed.

10. We stay active with lots of walking, hiking, weight lifting and high intensity, interval training. We play in the sun to get a daily dose of Vitamin D, socialise with friends, travel from place to place, and stimulate our brains by exploring and learning new things.

11. And finally, there is no one-size-fits-all Paleo diet, it’s a framework, which can be tailored to individual needs, goals, body types and sensitivities. It’s about how you feel when you include or exclude certain foods.